


Oxygen

by orphan_account



Category: TWICE (Band)
Genre: Angst?, Clubbing, Detective Nayeon, F/F, Possibly a one night stand but deeper
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-05
Updated: 2020-07-05
Packaged: 2021-03-04 22:22:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,573
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25083835
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: The night holds a lot of secrets for many people. There are those who seek comfort from the night and those who recoil from it. Can Sana and Nayeon make it through the night with the secrets they hold?(Or, alternatively, Sana and Nayeon spend the night together after meeting at a bar.)
Relationships: Im Nayeon/Minatozaki Sana
Comments: 4
Kudos: 46





	Oxygen

It’s a cold winter night. Nayeon just got the memo for her impending promotion. It isn’t much of a big deal for her, really. But everything in her life has been rather dull and uneventful that even something as simple as a promotion comes up as grandiose. 

And to say that she’s surprised would be a blatant lie. She had expected it. She works hard after all, never settling for anything less than perfect. If she had to go through each case file over and over again just to make sure she catches the right person in the end, she would.

Many would say she has gone to be too temperamental and stubborn to the core, totally unlike the Nayeon they met a few years back who was bubbly and full of radiant energy. But can they blame her? The work she ended up with, as much as she enjoys doing it, has worn her out beyond repair. 

Over the years, Nayeon has learned that the world is cruel and she’s doing it a favor by being a good detective. But the world’s too selfish to return such favors. Instead, it gave Nayeon more reasons to clam up and turn her back on all the good things, knowing well enough that they'd only get taken away sooner than later. 

So what’s the point of being happy if it only lasts for a while?

This time, she thinks she’s doing herself a favor by not purposely subjecting herself to the world's evil cycle of hurt. 

_ “What you don’t know (or have) won’t hurt you,”  _ she reasoned out one day to her subordinates.

Unfortunately, not everyone agrees with that mindset of hers; so much that it has taken a toll on most of her relationships — family, friends, and lovers alike. As days went by, her daily routine slowly morphed into one that barely involved the people who sincerely looked after her. 

Eventually, she’s left with no one else to protect her but herself. 

*

Here’s the thing. Im Nayeon does not frequent bars. At least, not of this kind. But it’s the closest she’s got to seal her night.

Although the place is quaint, intricate, and homey, it remains to feel dodgy and too eclectic for her liking. The dimly-lit space offers a strong sense of intimacy that makes Nayeon shiver. It’s as if the longer she stays, the deeper it crawls under her skin, making her itch to cave in. She shrugs it off and tugs on her clothing instead, drawing it closer to her body. Whether it was by instinct or a defense mechanism, she chooses not to dwell on it. She’s only here for a few drinks anyway. 

Nothing else. 

So when she spots an almost vacant table towards the middle, she quickly grabs a glass of martini from a waiter nearby and hands him a few bills in exchange, never looking back.

She’s not one to be guilty for committing such an act. For sure there are many unspoken rules in clubs and bars like this, but Nayeon also learned throughout the years that money is all that it takes to get people to either follow like some obedient lapdog or look away and stay silent forever. She understands that it is a concept that shouldn’t be taken lightly or dismissed as ‘normal’, but a few intercepted drinks won’t hurt, right? Sure, the person has to wait a little longer for their fill but in the end they would still have it served for them. 

**(What Nayeon doesn’t understand though is that she makes the rules. That the universe gives you what you intend for others. Karma’s a bitch and it will make sure Nayeon clearly gets it.)**

As Nayeon walks to the table she’s been eyeing, an obviously drunk man stumbles on his steps and bumps Nayeon hard from behind, forcing the cocktail glass out of her hand and onto the floor, shattering completely. 

**(If Nayeon had known better, she would have called it a night right there and then.)**

However, her sound reasoning tells her that it’s a normal occurrence in bars. She might be new here, but it isn’t the first time that she’s ever been to one. And knowing it will only be a pointless attempt to argue, she simply sends a small glare towards the drunk man and proceeds to pick up the broken shards.

But before her hands even get to the sharp glass, she feels a soft yet solid grip on her wrist. She looks up, and to her surprise (but she doesn’t show it), the intrusion came from a girl with a pale pink jacket dressed over her tight black crop top and matching leather skirt. She quirks an eyebrow but the girl doesn’t say a word and only pulls her up with such gentle force that it puzzles Nayeon. As far as she remembers, she doesn’t know anyone with the same physique nor with the same set of deep eyes as this girl dragging her along. It’s only then that she notices that her surroundings had grown more silent than when she arrived. She looks back to check what caused it and immediately feels unsettled to be met with a couple more pairs of eyes looking right at her, some with judgement but mostly with what Nayeon could describe as mischief. This breaks off the trance she was in. She quickly halts her steps, effectively stopping the girl in front of her. 

“Excuse me?”

Soft brown locks sweep past dainty shoulders and the girl finally reveals herself completely to Nayeon. If you ask her, she doesn’t really know what to expect when she said that. Maybe an apology? An explanation? Anything but the silence that the mystery girl is giving her right now.

Nayeon looks slightly pissed at this point. “Do I know you?” 

The girl purses her mouth in a self-satisfied smirk before saying, “You don’t?”

“What?” Nayeon’s face contorts deeper into a scowl. Not even five minutes has passed and this girl was already getting on her nerves.

The girl chuckles and lightly shakes her head which only infuriates Nayeon even more. “Nothing. Why don’t you take a seat?” 

Nayeon feels a pull on her wrist and before she knows it, her entire body is guided towards an empty stool, facing the girl. 

All the displayed nonchalance and smugness doesn’t sit well with Nayeon, which prompts her to go into full interrogation mode. 

“Who are you exactly?”

The girl settles herself on the opposite stool before answering. “You don’t want to know.”

“And why is that?” Nayeon tries to dig in further but is only given a subtle shrug.

“Why do you want to know so bad?” the girl diverts the topic.

Nayeon crosses her arms. “Because I was minding my own business then you came along, dragging me here. Who in their right mind would bother themselves to be in someone else’s business in a place like this?” 

The smirk is back on the girl’s face, and this time her eyes glint with something that Nayeon cannot exactly pinpoint. So, she stays silent and observes as the girl props her elbow against the counter and slowly rests her head on her semi-closed hand without breaking their eye contact.

“You think I did that to help you?”

Nayeon answers with only a raise of an eyebrow, implying that she doesn’t believe her.

“Well, I didn’t,” the girl confirms while motioning her free hand to the bartender for drinks. “But I guess it came out that way.”

“I’m a detective, you know.”

Nayeon doesn’t know what pulled her to say that. She normally doesn’t use her title outside of work. But the girl still seems unperturbed by the revelation anyway that it almost didn’t matter.

“You don’t look like one,” the girl says as she gives her a slow rundown with her eyes. “But then again, I should have gotten the hint with your leather outfit.” She chuckles to herself and reaches out for the drink that has just been put in between them.

The girl’s stare was disarming. That’s one thing that Nayeon picks up from their brief exchange, but she doesn’t allow it to get through her. She’s trained to crack people like this. 

**(But even someone as trained as Nayeon misses the hollowness behind those playful eyes.)**

“Will you just keep staring at me the whole night?” The girl jests as she finishes her drink. “Not that I mind though.”

Nayeon blinks. 

“Here,” the girl pushes the extra drink she ordered closer to Nayeon. “This might help you.”

Quick to her reflexes, Nayeon stops the girl’s hand. “No, thank you.”

“Come on. I assume you never even got a sip from the drink you dropped.”

That statement brings back Nayeon to her senses. 

“Why did you do it?”

The girl lets out another chuckle. “I’m not one of your suspects, detective.”

“I’m not—”

“But you ask me like one,” the girl quips. 

It now comes as a surprise to Nayeon how the girl seemed to hear everything that she has been saying while she, on the other hand, could barely make out all the words that's coming from the other and simply relies on her ability to put words together that made the most sense. It hasn't failed her until this very moment.

“What?” 

“Have you been to this place?” the girl says a little louder.

Nayeon shakes her head.

“Let’s just say…” the girl pauses, thinking, as her finger mindlessly circles the rim of her cocktail glass. “You’re not safe here.”

Nayeon thinks the girl is out of her mind. 

“I’m a detective,” she says for the second time as if it’s the answer to everything.

“And?”

“I can protect myself,” she says obviously, although her stance seems more defensive over her fragile feelings rather than her physical well-being.

“I have no doubt that you can’t.”

“Then why?” 

They have been running around in circles with this whole question and answer thing and, oddly, it sparks Nayeon’s curiosity more than her annoyance. 

“This place isn’t for the weak.”

Nayeon scoffs. “You think that I’m weak? Between you and I, you look more like you need the help.”

The girl drops her head onto her upper sleeve, hiding her face from Nayeon. It’s obvious that the girl is laughing, judging from the tremble of her shoulders. “It’s the pink jacket, isn’t it?”

_ ‘Is this girl for real?’  _ Nayeon thinks. 

The girl’s laughter soon dies down and she’s back to facing Nayeon, wiping the small tears that spilled out.

“Say, are you good at arm wrestling?”

“What?” At this point, Nayeon already lost count with how many times she said that tonight.

**(It’s only been the third time. Nayeon should have known.)**

“Well, it’s the only way to find out who’s weaker.”

Before Nayeon could object to that ridiculous idea, the girl’s already taking off her jacket, leaving nothing else to hide before her eyes.

“So, detective?” The girl positions her arm on the counter. “Are you ready to prove yourself?”

What the girl doesn’t know is that Nayeon never backs out on any challenge. She’ll pounce on anything when her pride and ego are at stake.

“Just so you know,” she says as she firmly grasps the girl’s hand. “You’re messing with the wrong person.” 

Upon first contact, Nayeon believes that the girl won’t stand a chance. Her hand is too small and soft in comparison to hers (if that actually mattered). And although she has a sturdy grip, her arm feels flimsy, which is quite unfitting for her choice of clothing. But then again, Nayeon thinks that most girls only dress to impress anyway, not that they actually consider if their figure matches the aura that their chosen styles exude. 

**(Still, deep inside, Nayeon can't deny that the girl could easily make any outfit work to her advantage. She won’t admit it, but the girl indeed has the looks and attitude for it.)**

“You ready?”

Nayeon is brought out of her thoughts as she feels warmth spread on the back of her hand. She eyes the girl suspiciously. “Yeah. Ready to beat you.”

The girl chuckles as she steadies both of them with her other hand. “I like the spirit.”

“Okay,” the girl lets her other hand fall back. 

“Three,” 

“Two,” Nayeon tightens her grip.

“One…"

“Hold on,” Nayeon stops the girl from proceeding. “What do I get out of this?”

**(It’s typical for someone like Im Nayeon. She's the type that doesn’t allow her efforts to come unrewarded no matter how small.)**

“You’re that sure you’ll win?”

Nayeon lightly swings both their arms, taunting. “You won’t even stand a chance.”

“Let’s see,” the girl is back with her smug look. “I’ll only tell you once you win.”

“You could have saved yourself the wait since I’ll win anyway,” Nayeon says confidently.

The smirk on the girl’s face becomes more prominent. “Three, two, one, go!”

After the countdown, Nayeon immediately hooks her wrist against the other girl’s slim one, knowing well enough that it’s a key to winning such a game. The first few seconds show that it’s indeed true but Nayeon has no idea what the girl has under her sleeves. Because the moment Nayeon senses that she’s about to win, she suddenly feels delicate fingers ghosting down her forearm, taking her aback.

“Hey—”

**(Needless to say, it ruined Nayeon’s focus. She wasn’t ready for such a distraction.)**

Her grip loosened up and her arm eventually gave out when the girl exerted more pressure. 

“That was cheating,” Nayeon says in ragged breathing. She didn't realize she was holding her breath the entire time. 

“You say cheater, I say opportunist. A win is a win, detective,” the girl says with a wink.

Nayeon’s eyebrows furrow. “I can’t believe you.”

“We just met,” the girl begins and lets go of Nayeon’s hand. “I guess it’s only natural that I don’t have your confidence when I ask you to believe what I say.”

Nayeon rolls her eyes and grabs the alcohol offered to her earlier and drinks it in one go.

"Woah there."

It stings. Nayeon wants to cough and repeatedly pound her chest to relieve the pain. But she goes against it, again, for her pride.

**(It's one thing to see Nayeon weak and vulnerable, but it's another to see her like that and also be the cause of it.)**

"You okay?"

Nayeon nods and hops down the stool, readying herself to leave.

"Wait," the girl blocks the way with her hand. "At least, let me treat you to some place or something.”

"What for?"

"To say sorry for being in your business?"

In Nayeon's mind, the girl seems harmless. She's a little arrogant, distracting, and nosy, but her sense of humor and perceptiveness compensates enough for them. Basically, every trait that Nayeon could nitpick on had something of the opposite that crosses it out, leaving her with only a seemingly normal clubgoer that just happens to be extremely attractive and sociable. 

So, she agrees. They exit the bar together and walk to their destination with the girl leading the way and Nayeon trailing behind at a safe distance. 

By habit, Nayeon checks the time on her watch. 

_ 9:12PM. _

It's still too early for Nayeon. She usually leaves from her work at around ten, but today was an exception. Once she got the memo, her superiors practically threw her out of the office, telling her to get some rest for being too overworked. And if not for this girl, she would have been sitting there at the bar, letting the time pass until it gets late enough for her to head home. Like always.

"Where are we going?" she finally asks after walking down some streets that she had already grown familiar with due to her line of duty.

"You'll see."

Their walk has been rather slow, with most of, if not all, the traffic lights turning red as soon as they reach each crossing. 

**(All the signs had been pointing to the other direction, but Nayeon overlooked those too.)**

“What made you agree?” the girl asks while they wait for the light to turn green.

  
“Honestly?”

"Mhm."

“I'm not exactly sure," Nayeon says. "I never trust strangers. Heck, I still don’t even know your name. But so far, everything has been okay for me today, save for a few mishaps. So I figured this won’t matter even if it somehow ends up to be that one thing that ruins it.”

The light turns green. They continue to walk but never beside each other.

“Do you easily trust people, detective?”

Nayeon does not quite catch it. “What’s that?” 

The girl repeats her question. 

“Why suddenly ask?”

“I’m not fond of walking in silence.” There’s a bit of truth in the girl’s tone, but Nayeon ignores it, thinking it’s one of the girl’s lousy excuses to get her talking. 

“Well,” Nayeon begins in thought. “I don’t.”

“Why not?”

“Why should I? Trust is something too complex and I’d rather not be associated with it all the time. ”

“Is it because of your job?”

Nayeon huffs. "Aren't you cold?" She notices how the girl never wore her jacket back, only draping it over one arm.

"I'm used to it," the girl relents to the change of topic.

"To the cold?"

The girl nods in confirmation.

“Show off,” Nayeon scoffs.

“I heard that.”

The girl stops on her tracks before Nayeon could counter. “Well, here we are.”

Nayeon stops too and looks up to her right to read the bright glowing sign. “A hotel?”

“Mhm. They serve the best food.”

Nayeon looks at her incredulously. “You seriously think I’ll go into some suspicious-looking hotel with someone I just met?”

“Your loss, detective. I’m not lying this time.”

“So you were lying earlier.” It came out more as a statement than a question.

The girl gives her a small smile. “Little white lies don’t hurt anyone.”

**(Nayeon agrees. A small, deliberate, and harmless fib can do no harm. But sometimes, it just can’t spare people from the unnecessary hurt and she knows that all too well.)**

“At least, tell me your name,” Nayeon sighs. “So I know who to look for in the morning.”

“Easy. I won’t do anything bad, detective,” the girl says, raising her arms defensively.

“Name?”

“I swear! We’re only here for the food.”

Nayeon begins tapping her foot. “Name?” she says again, but with more bite in it.

The girl puts down her arms and bargains, “How about I tell you after we eat?”

“What’s the big deal about your name that you can’t tell me? Do you have some record that I’ll know about?”

The girl’s demeanor changes. She slumps her shoulders and pouts. “I just want a little mystery. Why can’t you just play along?” she whines, which surprises Nayeon as it’s quite uncharacteristic of her, considering the strong façade she went with at the bar.

“What are you? Some baby?”

Something clicks inside the girl and she walks closer to Nayeon, lightly touching one elbow. “Yes, mommy.”

Nayeon gives her a look and swiftly detaches herself from the girl.

“Of course, I’m not. But I could be,” the girl snickers and raises her eyebrows suggestively.

Nayeon is quick to push her on the shoulders. “You’re unbelievable.”

The girl laughs and smiles at her innocently, head tilting ever so slightly.

“Stop giving me that look!”

“What look?”

“That!”

“Huh?”

“Huh.” Nayeon replies mockingly and walks past the girl, ignoring her and entering the building. 

**(Nayeon has always been impulsive—always acting on her emotions first and dwelling on its consequences later. She’s quick on her feet and that’s exactly why she lacks direction.)**

The girl quickly catches up. “Hey! I was just playing with you.”

Nayeon rolls her eyes for the upteenth time.

“Come.” The girl catches her hand mid-swing and drags her to the elevators. Right on time, the doors open and the girl pulls Nayeon inside with her. 

“Who told you that you can just drag people around everywhere?” Nayeon snaps and takes her hand away from the girl’s grip. She sees the girl press a button.

_ 22. _

The girl doesn’t respond. Instead, she rests her back against the metal wall, folding her arms and facing Nayeon.

“So you’re not gonna talk now?”

The girl arches her right eyebrow, questioning her in silence. 

“You expect me to believe that wherever the fuck we’re eating at is at the 22nd floor?”

The girl smiles, ceases moving for just a moment, for just long enough to force a groan from the back of Nayeon’s throat, before stepping forward and trapping the detective between her and the walls of the elevator. “Where’s the fun in telling you right away?”

“I don’t —”  Nayeon breathes in. She can hear the tremble in her voice, but whether it’s from anger or something else, she couldn’t tell. Her senses shut down the moment the girl unwelcomely slipped herself into her personal space. For years now, she spent her life alone, basking in the comfort of her own skin, with no one ever daring to push past the walls she’s built for herself. No one seemed brave enough to do it. Except maybe this girl. 

And perhaps that’s why Nayeon feels this way right now. She’s threatened  — highly intimidated by the fact that a girl she just met could easily disregard all pretenses and just go straight to the point, not caring a single bit if it bites her back later on or if it reaps nothing in return. 

It scares Nayeon. Because the way she sees it, they’re so much alike. And that’s always bad news.

“Cat got your tongue, sweetheart?” the girl asks, leaning over Nayeon’s prone form with her hands resting inside her pockets, gazing down at her with fondness and a twinkle of laughter.

“The fun,” Nayeon says, trying for stern and missing the mark, “is that I can address you properly instead of just referring to you in my head as that annoying girl I met at the bar.” She flattens her back on the cool surface of the wall, calming her nerves and cursing at the elevator for taking so long.

“Tempting,” the girl admits. “But that’s besides the point, isn’t it? You’re angry at me because I’m not telling you things.”

“I’m not angry.” Nayeon breathes through her nose.

“Really?”

“Yeah.”

“Then there’s no point in doing this.” The girl backs away but Nayeon stops her, grabbing her by the flimsy excuse of her collar.

“Doing what?”

The girl just smirks at her. 

“If I said I wasn't angry, well I am now,” Nayeon spats and pushes the girl away from her with all her force. 

The girl stumbles to the other side but continues to eye Nayeon with  _ that _ look again.

“What?” Nayeon taunts her. “You’re a fool for messing with me!”

The girl doesn’t say anything back, but there’s tension in the air.

She slowly walks back into Nayeon’s space, impossibly closer than before. Nayeon, fuming with annoyance, stays firm on her feet, shooting daggers through her eyes.

“I may be a fool. But this is exactly how I want you to be,” the girl puts a hand on Nayeon’s shoulder, fingers just lightly brushing against her neck. “Raged, furious, and just  _ seething _ with so much anger.”

Nayeon hates how those words slip out from the girl’s mouth. It’s slow, with every syllable excruciatingly drawn out, obviously mocking the current state she’s in. “Shut up.”

“Make me,” the girl whispers to her ear.

**(Nayeon isn’t sure how she got herself into this mess and that’s what it is. A mess. She has always told herself that she isn’t that kind of girl. She would never be with someone she barely even knows.)**

But now, this mystery girl has her pushed up against the elevator walls of some shady ass hotel, mouth dangerously close to her skin, making her shiver with every puff of warm breath.

And Nayeon just lets her; body in total resignation and intoxicated by the way the girl’s voice coos in her ear, “You’re pretty, you know that? So  _ so _ beautiful.”

It sounds like a lie, but not because she thinks the girl’s a liar. It sounds like it because the girl’s the pretty one. Stunning. She’s the one with the tantalizing brown eyes, with the thin smile that pins her in place, and with the long hair that cascades down naturally and looks soft to touch. 

Nayeon is just… Nayeon. 

She bites her lip, chapped from nervousness, around a weak whimper as the girl’s hand trails down from her shoulders to her hips, eliciting goosebumps even underneath the thick layer of leather. It’s the timing and the heat and the way the girl breathes. “Don’t hold back, detective. My name is Sana. Trust me…” the girl looks her in the eye. “Even just for tonight.”

With the ding of the elevator, Nayeon is convinced to unveil her deepest secrets in the night.

*

When Nayeon looks at the girl  —  _ Sana _ as she had learned — her eyes are sparkling. Nayeon isn’t sure she wants to know the reason behind it, but her lips fall open on a breathless, “What?” 

Sana just smiles softly, takes Nayeon’s wrists, and pulls her out of the elevator. Luckily for them, no one interrupted their little moment.

“Where are we going?”

They stop in the middle of the hallway.

“Do you trust me, detective?” Sana asks, looking for some confirmation in Nayeon’s eyes.

Nayeon stares right back at her and it’s clear that she’s having trouble debating inside her mind. After a while, she speaks out. “Nayeon.”

“What?” This time, Sana’s the one left asking, confused at the detective’s response to a simple yes-or-no question.

“Im Nayeon,” the detective mutters under her breath.

Sana realizes what the detective just said and smiles at her again. “That’s a pretty name.”

Nayeon feels the heat creep up her face. And she hates it  — h ow her body could easily betray her mind.

“But you’re still not answering my question though.”

“Wasn't that enough?”

“I need to hear it from you, Nayeon.”

Nayeon hates it too  — how her name rolls off of the girl’s tongue so naturally, like she’s been saying it her whole life. 

How can a stranger feel so  _ familiar _ ?

“Can we not?” Nayeon says, almost sounding like she’s pleading.

“Not what?”

“It’s just...” Nayeon looks at Sana in the eye, expecting the girl to know what she means.

“Just what, Nayeon?” the girl pushes.

“You’re asking for too much. You know that.” 

It’s evident that the girl, like her, was also having a hard time with all the pushing and pulling that has been happening. One moment they’re okay, the next they’re not. But one thing’s for sure. They are both in this together, whatever it is; not knowing where it’s going, but hoping they find it along the way.

“Then how can I know that you trust me?” 

Without a word, Nayeon grasps Sana’s arm that has been holding her wrist the entire time and pulls her closer. “How can I make sure that I can trust you, Sana?” It comes out so softly that Sana almost misses it. But the glaze in Nayeon’s eyes bares it all.

“Trust me. Because I trust you, Nayeon,” Sana whispers. Like a secret that only they can share. 

**Author's Note:**

> If you were Nayeon, would you believe in everything that Sana says? :]


End file.
